Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a timeless classic that families love to sit down and watch during the holidays. Every year, the debate around the movie grows larger and cloudier. However, the answer is simple: “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a Christmas movie. By examining the movies’ basic elements, one can easily see why.
While aesthetically pleasing, much of the movie takes on a “Halloween-like” appearance, but the look is deceiving. In fact, the movie begins the day AFTER Halloween. Beginning on November 1st and ending on Christmas night, the movie tells a tale of the preparations for the Christmas holiday.
Similarly, many famous Christmas movies tell tales and adventures that lead up to and end on Christmas day. The days prior to Christmas are arguably what people love most about the holiday. Movies like “A Christmas Story”, “White Christmas” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” all attempt to capture the magic of the days before Christmas, just like “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. Not only are they all Christmas movies, but they are also some of the most beloved of the genre.
Some might say that just because the movie takes place on Christmas doesn’t mean that it is part of the genre. Movies like “Jaws: Revenge, “Mean Girls” and “Gremlins” all take place on the happiest day of the year, and yet each of them is distinctly considered not to be Christmas movies.
However, when one examines the themes of each of these films, one can see exactly why they are not considered to be Christmas movies. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” not only adheres to many of the themes surrounding the Christmas genre but also contains motifs and subplots that are apparent in many films of the genre.
Thematically, the film delves into ideas that surround the Christmas genre, ideas like newfound love and the spread of joy and cheer, all while Jack consistently reminds his cohorts of the Christmas mission. The most prominent of all is the “saving” of Christmas. Some say that Jack must only save Christmas because he ruins Christmas, which is true. However; movies like “A Christmas Carol” and “Christmas with the Kranks” (both distinct Christmas movies) involve the same idea of the protagonist saving the Christmas that they themselves ruined.
Not only does “The Nightmare Before Christmas” contain the themes and tropes of Christmas movies, but the title insists that it does. In fact, every Christmas movie named so far has Christmas in the title, just like this one does. Now, Christmas movies don’t have to have Christmas in the title for the movie to be considered part of the genre, but one would be hard-pressed to find a movie with Christmas in the title that isn’t part of the genre.
Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a Christmas movie because it is set during the Christmas season, contains themes and motifs that accompany the genre and the movie itself defines it as a Christmas movie from the title. So next time you wonder what Christmas movie to watch during the holiday season, don’t forget about Jack Skellington and his band of misfits and monsters that attempt to create a Christmas that even Halloween lovers can enjoy.
Jack DeWitt can be reached at arg-opinion@uidaho.edu